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Creating Landscape Art From Natural Materials Landscape artist Nancy Winship Milliken ’80 creates sculptures that layer time, weather and materials. Currently, she has work on display at Milton Academy in Massachusetts in a group show called Connections/Conexiones, and a towering 72-foot-high lighthouse sculpture on display outdoors at Boston’s Christian Science Plaza as part of the Boston Sculptors’ show Convergence. The lighthouse, which is illuminated at night, was crafted on-site with local wool, sisal, rope, scaffolding and fishnet — all materials of New England industry. “It creates shadows,” said Nancy. “Its light and airy materials are in contrast to the solid buildings of the beautiful plaza.” Her outdoor installations, whether in remote farmland or in the city, reveal the actions of wind, rain and sun as they transform her shapes and materials. She combines industrial materials, such as steel, with ephemeral, organic materials, such as wool, wax and honey, chosen for their inherent beauty and animate nature. She works in the landscape as well as indoors, sometimes bringing the human element in with set design for theater. Documentation is a large part of Nancy’s art. She photographs the pieces during construction, exhibition and dismantling. “Seeing it in person, you experience the light, texture and smell of a piece,” she said. “Photography changes it to a two-dimensional object. Rain, fog or sun coming through a work can animate it. You can get up at 5:30 a.m. to catch a foggy morning, or catch moments of sun coming through the work later in the day.” While at Westminster, Nancy played lacrosse, soccer and field hockey, and participated in swimming and dance. As a student, she said her focus was directed more to science than art, and she majored in health education at the University of Vermont. She returned to school to earn a Master of Fine Arts from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2008. “I still use the Nancy Winship Milliken ’80 sciences today as an artist,” she added. “I’m always discovering.” Nancy and her husband, Andrew Milliken, were both closely connected to Westminster as children, and both attended elementary school at Renbrook School. Nancy’s father is Westminster alumnus and former faculty member Johns Winship ’48. Andrew is the son of trustee emeritus Charlie Milliken P’77, and the grandson of Westminster’s fourth headmaster, Arthur Milliken. Andrew’s sister is Sue Milliken ’77. The couple met through mutual Renbrook friends on an evening out after Nancy’s return from UVM. Nancy and Andrew first settled in Rhode Island, where Nancy taught at the Westerly YMCA and then coached field hockey and lacrosse as the couple raised their children. They relocated to Amherst, Mass., in 2000, and Nancy began teaching at Hartsbrook School. It was there that she had her first experience working with wool. “At Hartsbrook, we raised sheep, chickens and goats, and I taught a ‘Sheep to Shawl,’ program which takes students through the process of transforming wool into a sweater or tapestry.” Curious about shearing, she followed a local hand shearer for a spring season, and learned about the different breeds of sheep and farming practices. Since wool is a primary material in her art, she relies on local suppliers to provide her with the wool she needs. “It’s backbreaking work,” she said. “I only sheared one sheep on my own. I’m in cahoots with a great shearer who delivers bags of wool that are bigger than me. Many times I will visit the farms and talk with the farmers, which is an important part of my work and informs my art practice.” Nancy recently completed an installation in New Zealand, which has the highest sheep population density in the world. She created what she describes as her own “residency,” finding a farm family willing to have her art created in their pasture. “I went with no tools except for a pen and knife, and used found materials,” she said. “I lived and ate on the farm. Visitors came every day. The landscape was beautiful and inspirational.” Nancy hopes her next travels will take her to Peru to create an urban installation, incorporating cob, an adobe-like building material used for cottages composed of earth, hay and clay. Her work will be displayed in 2014 in the show Vision/Visones at Museo Convento de Santo Domingo, Qorikancha, The Temple of the Sun, in Cuzco, Peru. For additional information about her work, visit www.nancymilliken.com.
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